A blog by a British Muslim girl

Gaza

We are halfway through Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims and this last week has been difficult to say the least. I’m not referring to the fasting aspect, I’m referring to attack on Gaza. All week myself and many others have been posting pictures and articles about the reality of Operation ‘Protective Edge’. Over 150 Palestinians have died in less than a week, many of those women and children. I don’t need to sit here and retell the disgusting attitude and ideology of the Zionists who rule over Israel and many other governments in the world. But I will ask this: Why is a Palestinian life worth less than an Israeli one? Is it because the masses have become desensitised by the struggle of the Palestinians? A struggle that has gone on for over 60 years where Palestinians have been denied human rights. A struggle against apartheid, and a struggle to keep their homes from being destroyed and their land stolen so that illegal settlements can be built. The settlements (illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention) give Jews the right to come from anywhere in the world and live there — The Law of Return, which is the main tenet of Zionism, is racism at its best. Torture the existing residents to such an extent that they flee the country, or bomb them so they die thus making room for the Jewish people around the world who already have homes in other countries. Crazy law which so many believe in.

So what is the international community’s problem? Why has the reporting of events in Gaza been so lacklustre in organisations like the BBC and American media? Demonstrations took place all over the world supporting the people of Gaza but very few media outlets reported it. Why are Palestinians lives worth less than Israeli lives? Is it because the West wants the only non-Muslim country in the Middle East to remain non-Muslim? Is it pure racism, even though the Palestinian and Israeli people are both Semites and actually have the same race? Is it guilt following centuries of persecution of Jews, and now it’s ok for Jewish Israelis to swap roles from oppressed to oppressor? Is it because of the millions of dollars worth of trade in arms and goods that would be lost if they spoke out against Israel? America gives millions of its citizens dollars to Israel in weapons and aid. Why? Is it because of the Biblical prophecy which promises Jews the holy land? Or is it because the people at the top have bought into the Zionist ideology? Whatever the reason, apparently it’s ok for Israel to kill 150 civilians because even if they’re not part of Hamas, they probably know somebody in Hamas or if they are children then they will become terrorists. If they are women, that’s ok because they give birth to terrorists. This is just some of the mindset of people who have been brought up listening to Israeli propaganda. Whatever the reason, this is not acceptable by any standards.

Let’s be honest and clear about this. The reality is this — Israel wants to get rid of all the Palestinians in Palestine for land and land only. They have been trying to do this for decades by making the lives miserable of those in the occupied territories, by building more and more illegal settlements and by simply attacking them with air strikes, bombs and other methods. Hundreds and thousands of Palestinians have fled since the creation of Israel, as their homes were destroyed and they were made refugees in their own country. (What about their right to return?) But for those that stayed they are still experiencing the ethnic cleansing and apartheid regime by Israel. They are resisting at the cost of their lives and their children’s lives. Israelis love using the phrase ‘human shields’. When you don’t have anything and you will not leave your home under the pressure of Israel, what can you do? Only resist and throw stones. According to international law those in illegal occupied territories are allowed to fight and resist legally.

The situation is dire and the world leaders need to wake up and stand up against injustice. For us mere mortals all we can do is raise awareness and complain about one sided reporting. So please when you see injustice stand up and fight against it. Complain, demonstrate, share the truth, this is the minimum we can do. And maybe somebody will listen one day.